Event

DEAR COMRADES

Novocherkassk, a provincial town in the south of the USSR, 1962. Lyudmila, a devout Communist Party official and idealistic veteran of WWII, is a scourge of anything she perceives as anti- Soviet sentiment. Together with other local Party officials, she is taken by surprise by a strike at the local factory, in which her own daughter is taking part. As the situation quickly spirals out of control, Lyudmila begins a desperate search for her daughter in the face of curfews, mass arrests, and the authorities' ruthless attempts to cover up the state violence. Her once unquestioning faith in the Party line is shaken by her growing awareness of its human toll, tearing apart the world she thought she knew.
When the communist government raises food prices in 1962, the rebellious workers from the small industrial town of Novocherkassk go on strike. The massacre which then ensues is seen through the eyes of a devout party activist. Dear Comrades received critical praise out of the Venice Film Festival, with Variety calling it "scintillating" and "meticulous and majestic, epic in scope and tattoo-needle intimate in effect," and The Playlist describing it as "a fascinating blend of dark satire and bleak archaeology."